I have my own theory about the significance of those beautiful beaded and tweeded, 1950s inspired clothes that Miuccia Prada showed tonight. But first, a message from the auteur herself. "What really preoccupies me every time I start a collection nowadays," she said after the show, "is how political correctness proscribes what we do. You can't look too feminine, be too romantic...everything has to be undercut with a nasty edge".

Given the intimate relationship between clothes and the woman - or man - wearing them, Prada's willingness to engage with issues beyond the most pressingly obvious one of coming up with a must-have accessory each season is commendable, even if it sometimes lays her open to misinterpretation.

There was a clear future bestseller by the way. There always is. Next winter's will be her chunky tractor-soled brogues. "I had to fight with my stylist to keep those in," she confessed. "She agreed we could keep three pairs. The rest had to be heels"

The themes of the show were fading beauty and what Prada called "raw elegance". The models sported wet-look hair and seemed deliberately too young for their grown up outfits. "I wanted things to look a bit destroyed, so they don't look too expensive, added Prada". In this last, I think she probably failed. Those fit and flare tweed skirts and coats with their gauntlet sleeves, chinchilla cuffs and heavily embroidered inserts didn't look remotely cheap. Nor did the oversized alligator bowling bags, or those mink and sable jackets worn with delicate, sheer beaded skirts, giving fresh resonance to the expression 'all fur skirt and no knickers'.

Trees, barely in bud, were painted onto a backdrop on which the silhouette of a wasp-waisted model kept disappearing and reappearing, alongside the outline of an enormous cat. What was the symbolism of that?

Mrs Prada wasn't sure. I think it was all about the second Mrs de Winter wearing Rebecca's expensive couture wardrobe, and looking a little too young. Unfortunately there are always so many people waiting to mwah-mwah Mrs Prada backstage, I never get round to confirming.